Hearne: Boxer Tommy Morrison Interred Not Encased

It wasn’t easy, but the friends and family of former KC boxer Tommy Morrison did indeed prevail and he was buried very quietly in a Sulphur Springs, Arkansas cemetery alongside members of his family.

“He has a headstone and everything and his mother was allowed to bury his ashes and so forth,” says former Morrison backer Susan Martin. “I think his wife Trisha figured out that nobody was going to buy his ashes and nobody was going to go to her tour stops where she was going to talk about the past two years of Tommy’s life and she was supposedly going to sell whatever she had to sell.”

A brief refresher:

“Today Tommy will be cremated~as per HIS wishes,” Trisha texted friends and family last September, shortly after her husband’s death. “Each special person that meant a lot to him in his life will receive a keepsake memory neckace with boxing gloves filled with his ashes. Those that receive them will have a piece of him for the rest of their lives. Whether they are in church praying or at a fight ringside or LEGALLY smoking pot in Colorado (!) Tommy will be there with them in every state and every part of the world and will be remembered.”

Most importantly, Trisha emphasized, “He did NOT want a funeral service or burial. There will be CELEBRATIONS OF TOMMY’S LIFE in old fight territories: Vegas~Tulsa~Atlantic City~Kansas City and as far as the UK and Australia and with hopes of also at Canastota BHOF.”

Morrison’s son Tristin Duke at his father’s graveside

While the boxing glove encased ashes gimmick sounded about par for the course to some familiar with Tommy’s wild, weird ways, “None of his friends wanted his ashes,” Martin says. “I mean, nobody’s going to wear Tommy’s ashes in boxing gloves around their neck or on a keychain either. Because no matter what people thought of Tommy, they had more respect for him than that.

“And how would you know if it wasn’t kitty litter in there or something? I mean, his ashes would only go so far. How many gloves could she have even made?”

As for the October funeral, “There was a service, but it was private,” Martin says. “And ever since the funeral I have not heard a word.”

As for Trisha, she apparently passed on attending the funeral after throwing in the towel on the farewell tour, etc.

But not happily; note the sarcastic use of quote marks in her missive to all:

“I have stopped all cremation arrangements and Tommys wishes. This is due to pressure from ‘loving family’ and from ‘tony holden’
I will be signing cancellation notice today and Tony can coordinate with his ‘loving family’ on all their wishes.

“I’m sorry Tommy ~ but I dont want to be a part of this. I didn’t give up on you. I just couldnt stand the evilness of it all.

Trisha for Tommy.”

There is however a chance that Trisha may be able to deliver on one of her pre-throwing in the towel vows:

“I will be bringing a ‘message from the Duke’ that we were unable to get out before his passing. ”

That is if she follows through with a book and or movie as is suspected.

If your treatment of Morrison’s passing (including a column where you published hearsay on this size of the deceased’s genitalia) represents restraint, I hereby encourage you to let your freak flag fly!

There is no way Trisha can tell Tommy’s story. The last wife Tommy had didn’t think Tommy had HIV, had power of attorney medical, and probably stopped any HIV meds that had kept him alive all these years. No one has come forward and given the cause of death for Tommy. If anyone latches on to Trisha and thinks they can make a buck, best get a job. The real story will be told by friends and family that have been around for over 30 years.

Thanks for the update. I think Trisha came to the reality that she was a nobody before she met Tommy and after he was gone…she is still a nobody. And sadly the story is more about denial of the truth than fighting to live it. But he certainly was a character.